


taking back the crown

by inkin_brushes



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Derogatory Language, Dirty Talk, Humiliation, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Self-Lubrication, dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:22:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7495485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkin_brushes/pseuds/inkin_brushes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In retrospect, rejecting Han Sanghyuk’s heat week invitation hadn’t been the smartest thing Taekwoon had ever done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	taking back the crown

**Author's Note:**

> i swore to myself i would never write a self-lubing butt aND HERE I AM. i blame teen wolf fic. it desensitized me and gave me a weird guilty pleasure for all this. stuff. i also blame rara. who facilitated this. it was obvs brought on by vixx's recent foray into a werewolf concept and was sUPPOSED to be a dribbly drabble but then rara was like "ok but: werewolf mafia" and now here we are. self-lubing butts and all. 
> 
> also i have not forgotten about incarnadine and have been working on it too, this just kinda. exploded out of me in like three days.

It was a warm day, Taekwoon’s fan on low and oscillating slowly. He had his bare feet tucked between the couch cushions as he watched a rerun of an old sitcom, family rated because of the early hour. His limbs had that pleasant sort of gentle buzz going through them, remnants of a good run, a good Shift, last night. He should probably shower, wash the scent of animal, blood, earth, off himself, but he wanted to wait just a little, wanted to savor it just a bit. The next full moon wasn’t coming until the end of heat week, which Taekwoon was decidedly not looking forward to and trying very hard not to think about. 

The episode ended, and the opening tune of the morning news blared out, which made Taekwoon wince and turn the volume down. He had no interest in the current affairs, because that damn Astra Pharmaceuticals case was just being looped. The horse was dead, as far as Taekwoon was concerned. But alpha shenanigans would always get coverage, especially when it involved one of the old families. 

He had the day off work like all the other omegas, and the alphas too, everyone who could do a full Shift. The betas weren’t so lucky, but the world would be sleepy, today, so Taekwoon was surprised when his doorbell rang, shrill and jarring.

The man waiting on the mat outside his door wasn’t anyone he recognized, wearing a forty dollar suit and an expression that said he took himself very seriously. Taekwoon squinted in the bright morning light after he’d opened the door, blinking.

“Jung Taekwoon,” the man said, and it should have been a question, but it really wasn’t.

Taekwoon gave a small sniff, trying to be subtle. Beta. Not a threat. “Yeah?” he said. “That’s me. Who are you?”

The beta opted not to answer, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a small black envelope, which he handed to Taekwoon wordlessly. 

Taekwoon caught an edge of scent clinging to the paper, and almost flung it back in the man’s face, his heartbeat picking up. But instead he just jerked, in a way that probably looked ridiculous, flipping the envelope over in his hands. His heart sank when he saw the wax seal, the emblem. 

He glanced up at the beta, who was watching him expectantly, and Taekwoon guessed that was supposed to mean he was supposed to open it, and answer it, now. 

“Uh,” Taekwoon said, never having been in this position before and not fully sure as to the phrasing he should be using. “I— decline?”

The beta frowned a little, alpha lackey he was, and he looked at the envelope, unopened in Taekwoon’s hand, and then back up at Taekwoon’s face. 

“I _respectfully_ decline?” Taekwoon tried, and that just made the beta frown harder. “My answer is no,” he said and stepped back, closing his front door. 

He waited, fingertips on his door as he listened, and after a few seconds he heard the beta move away, footsteps fading down the hall, and he sighed out a breath of relief. He looked down at the envelope in his hands, nose wrinkling. After a moment of contemplating if he should just throw it away without opening it, he found he was slightly curious, so he wedged a blunt nail under the wax seal, finding the letter inside was on paper as black and thick as the envelope, folded neatly.

The scent was stronger, here, and Taekwoon wondered if the alpha had rubbed the delicate insides of his wrists on all the letters, so they would carry his scent. It was the old way. This was all the old way. Taekwoon was surprised he couldn’t smell blood. The boy had certainly wasted no time, clearly already enjoying the perks of his new position. 

The font was printed in gold lettering, a simple heat cycle invitation, impersonal and formal. Taekwoon was glad for its genericness, because it meant he wasn’t the only one receiving one. There were plenty of unmated, available omegas in the area. Hopefully it would mean his rejection would be easily overlooked. Not that it really mattered, this may be an old tradition but they went by new laws now, thankfully. Taekwoon no longer had to be worried about being carted away against his will, claimed and owned. 

He’d never gotten a heat week invite before; it was very old fashioned, people nowadays met their heat mates online or through friends, coworkers, both parties deciding. They didn’t do Choosings anymore, not usually, and not ones so broad that they’d invite someone as unconnected as Taekwoon. But then again, none of the prominent alphas in his nearby territory had been a member of one of the old families before, either. Taekwoon thought the whole process was distasteful, but he found everything about omega and alpha dynamics distasteful. New laws or no, he hated being seen as a commodity to be owned. Worse, he hated being expected to clamour for an alpha’s favor. Like now. The beta had been so shocked. No doubt most other omegas would accept the invite, would gather in their prettiest dresses, crispest suits, and line up for their new alpha to have his pick. 

The signature at the bottom glittered gold in the light, the only words on the paper that hadn’t been printed on, but actually written. _Han Sanghyuk_. 

“Murderer,” Taekwoon whispered. 

The scent clinging to the paper was beginning to make Taekwoon feel light headed, heart fluttering, so he folded the letter back up and tossed it and the envelope in the trash.

——

There were three ways to become an alpha.

The first was to be born as one, Taekwoon hadn’t been so lucky.

The second was that an alpha could transfer their abilities to a family member, if they were on the cusp of a natural death. If they didn’t transfer them before they died, their abilities and station died with them. Taekwoon had no alpha family members, he was surrounded by betas and omegas. He’d always thought inheriting one’s abilities from a deceased family member was somewhat macabre anyway.

But it was nothing to the third, which was his only real option if he wanted to escape being an omega. An alpha’s powers could be taken by force, if they were killed, murdered. _Stealing_ , Taekwoon rather thought, but he’d be lying if he hadn’t dreamt about it, sometimes. But he wasn’t stupid, and he’d rather be an omega than dead. He’d never be able to defeat an alpha in a fight. 

So instead he just dealt with his condition as best he could, masking his scent and trying to blend in with the betas, avoiding alphas because his body couldn’t be trusted. And he couldn’t trust theirs either. Because kidnappings— claiming— it still happened, like in the old ways. It wasn’t supposed to, and it was always so hushed up, the whispers barely surfacing. But Taekwoon knew. Alphas were an omega’s monsters in the dark. 

Which was why he spent most of his time at home, or at his workplace, a small company that handled customer complaints for a local frozen food mongul. It was a job for omegas, and a few very pitiful betas. God forbid Taekwoon have a job where he had to deal with people face to face, he’d potentially end up exposed to an alpha.

He hated himself, he hated that he’d grown tall and broad and been an omega anyway. And he hated that he’d been jittery since he’d gotten that damn invite, hated that a ghost of a smell could get to him so badly.

Taekwoon was on his third cup of coffee, typing with a little too much force as he replied to an email, when Jaehwan poked his head over the top of Taekwoon’s cubicle, grinning. He was the worst kind of omega, unclaimed but desperate for a mate, too loud and annoying to snag one. Omegas outnumbered alphas one to five, Jaehwan needed to accept his fate and settle with a beta. 

“Hey, hey, Taekwoon,” Jaehwan said, whispering in that way that wasn’t even a real whisper. He reached over the cubicle wall, motioning until Taekwoon looked up, scowling. “I got a heat invite yesterday from the man himself.”

“I did too,” Taekwoon said flatly, going back to looking at his computer screen.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jaehwan retreat, but then he was coming around to stand _in_ the cubicle, hovering by Taekwoon’s chair. “You did? I figured you might have. The Choosing is in two days, apparently, do you know what you’re going to wear—”

Taekwoon stopped typing. “I declined it,” he whispered, and startled when Jaehwan squawked. 

“You _declined_ it?” Jaehwan echoed, and Taekwoon elbowed him in the gut so hard Jaehwan double over, wheezing. “Why did you do that?” Jaehwan gasped, eyes tearing.

“Because you have the subtlety of a brick to the head,” Taekwoon hissed, and Jaehwan squinted at him.

“No,” he said, rubbing his stomach. “Why did you decline?” When Taekwoon’s response was to simply stare at him flatly, Jaehwan sighed. “I mean, I know— I know you wouldn’t want to. Don’t want to. But aren’t you worried about saying no to— to—” His voice dropped. “Someone from one of the old families? Especially, you know, considering—”

“A little,” Taekwoon admitted, averting his eyes. “I’m— a bit worried, but I don’t think, with the current media storm happening, he’d want to compound things by hurting an omega.”

“True,” Jaehwan said, before asking in a whisper, “Have you seen the leaked video from the Challenge yet?”

Taekwoon’s stomach dropped. “I’ve been avoiding it.”

“It was— something,” Jaehwan said, fiddling with his tie. “Truth be told, like, I know he’s the whole alpha package, rich and influential and attractive, but— I don’t want him to pick me.”

Taekwoon blinked up at him, a little surprised. “Was it that bad?”

“It was just—” Jaehwan waved his hand in a gesture that Taekwoon supposed was supposed to convey something. “Everyone was wearing suits and it was in a nice, modern building, but take it all away and it was just base viciousness, like something from a long time ago. Makes you glad the laws changed, you know?”

“Not enough. Challenges should be illegal,” Taekwoon muttered. 

“Hey, alphas don’t have to accept every Challenger, not anymore,” Jaehwan pointed out with a shrug. “If an alpha wants to indulge in a fight to the death with a rando beta, and it goes badly for them, that’s on them.”

 _Except when they can’t decline, because they’re new power and the Challenger is a beta princeling from one of the old families_ , Taekwoon thought. He’d give it to Han Sanghyuk— Challenges didn’t really happen anymore, things were usually dealt with more delicacy. Even the old families had tried to adopt some tact. Perhaps Han Sanghyuk hadn’t gotten the memo, or, more likely, he was simply young and brash and knew this would be faster, the rewards richer.

Taekwoon knew the other people on the board of Astra Pharmaceuticals were scrambling to file some kind of appeal, but Han Sanghyuk had won the title, and all the dead alpha’s assets, fair and square. They’d be hard pressed to wedge him out of it, even if he was essentially a kid, and possibly neither qualified nor suited to be a CEO. In cases like these, often anyone with very strong ties with the defeated alpha would be stripped of rank at best or killed at worst, simply to prevent these types of post-Challenge power struggles. But in this day and age it was difficult to do that and get away with it. 

“Did he kill any of the immediate family?” Taekwoon asked in a whisper. He’d not heard anything about it, but—

“No, he didn’t, thankfully,” Jaehwan said, and Taekwoon was glad for it. The Challenge had generated enough of a shitstorm, maybe they’d decided killing hapless siblings would just be one cherry on the sundae too many. “But, you know, there was the mate.”

“He killed the mate?” Taekwoon asked, maybe a little too loudly. Alphas didn’t kill omegas, not even if they were mated to someone else. It just went against— well, everything. 

“Ah, no,” Jaehwan said, and he turned a little red. 

Taekwoon’s eyes widened, heart skipping a beat. “He—”

“Yeah,” Jaehwan said, cutting him off. “In front of everyone, too. His mouth was still bloody. She— she didn’t seem to mind, though.”

Taekwoon felt chills creep along his spine, goosebumps rising. The old ways, indeed. 

“I hope he doesn’t pick you,” Taekwoon whispered, and Jaehwan nodded, a little fervent. The both of them startled when someone barked Jaehwan’s name, Jaehwan turning guiltily.

“Park your omega ass back in your cubicle, Lee Jaehwan,” Hakyeon snapped, and Jaehwan scurried away. Hakyeon watched him go, scowling, but the corner of his lips were twitching, like he was trying not to smile. Jaehwan was always going here and there to gossip, but Taekwoon wondered if Hakyeon had overheard what they’d been talking about.

Hakyeon saw Taekwoon still looking at him, and finally smiled a little and winked at him. Taekwoon felt heat come to his cheeks, a little flustered. He had probably heard, then. It wasn’t exactly tasteful to talk about it in Hakyeon’s earshot, because Taekwoon knew Hakyeon’s family was on the fringes of it, all betas and so all low ranking, but they still had connections. Han Sanghyuk’s ascension would only mean good things for Hakyeon, even if it took a long time to trickle all the way out to him.

Taekwoon looked away from the beta and turned back to his computer, determinately putting all thoughts of the local political upheaval out of his mind.

——

The itch was starting, just barely there, a whisper. But it was enough to make Taekwoon grumpy. It was still nearly a week away, but if Taekwoon was already itching, he would need to start wearing suppressant patches early this year. Heat week was uncomfortable and he hated it with every fiber of his being, hated— hated wanting to be taken, claimed, hated the wetness between his legs and the fever dreams. He wasn’t anyone’s fucktoy, was so much more than that. So he would spend the week alone, or with Jaehwan’s occasional company. If Jaehwan was available.

Han Sanghyuk opted to hold his Choosing privately, no cameras allowed, but they hadn’t taken Jaehwan’s phone, though Taekwoon wasn’t sure they’d allowed phones in. Maybe Jaehwan had smuggled it in up his ass. He had more than enough room back there.

_I should have bought a nicer suit :(_

Taekwoon rolled his eyes at the text, typing back. _Has it happened yet?_

The reply came fast. _No, there was some weird confusion, I think one of the omegas didn’t show. One of the organizers looks ready to pee himself_. A pause. _We’re lining up_.

Taekwoon was exhausted, work had been long, but he waited, cross-legged in bed, staring at his phone. 

It took longer than Taekwoon thought it should, really, how much time did an alpha need to look over a line of omegas and pick one. But finally Taekwoon’s phone vibrated with an incoming text.

_He didn’t pick me :(((_

Taekwoon sighed softly, shoulder muscles releasing the tension they’d been holding. _Who did he pick?_

 _Some girl with tits like woooooow_ , was Jaehwan’s response.

Taekwoon rolled his eyes. _Good night, Jaehwan_.

——

“Rejected,” Jaehwan moaned over the top of Taekwoon’s cubicle. “Disgraced.”

“You didn’t even want him to pick you,” Taekwoon reminded him, not looking away from his screen. They were swamped today. Three, count that, _three_ of Taekwoon’s coworkers had called out, because they’d been at the Choosing, and not been picked, and their pride was bruised, apparently. Or they were embarrassed. Either way, Taekwoon wanted to throttle the lot of them. 

He rolled his shoulders, trying to chase away the tension he had building at the base of his spine. 

“I didn’t, but still, it was surprisingly embarrassing, you know?” Jaehwan said, voice turning musing. “I wonder if that is what unpicked fruits at the market feel like.” 

“Are you a dishonored banana?” Taekwoon asked solemnly, and Jaehwan blew a raspberry at him. “You’ll have to cope like always, Jaehwan. Sorry.” Taekwoon really just didn’t understand, he didn’t get the desire to couple with an alpha. Proud, arrogant creatures they were. 

“You’re just glad I didn’t get picked because it means you’ll have me to stick your dick into for heat week, not that it does anything for me,” Jaehwan sniffed, and Taekwoon lobbed his stapler at Jaehwan’s stupid face.

“Stop throwing things at Jaehwan’s nose!” Hakyeon called out from his office, amidst Jaehwan’s theatrical shrieking. 

Taekwoon was probably lucky his boss was also his best friend, or else he’d have been fired a long time ago. 

——

The backlog meant Taekwoon ended up staying way overtime, barely catching the last bus. While they bumped along the streets Taekwoon tugged his tie off with a sigh, folding it and shoving it in his pocket and undoing his top button. It was full dark by the time he got dropped off, which always made him edgy, an omega alone, but the stop wasn’t too far from his apartment. He tucked his chin down, hunching his shoulders, and walked.

Taekwoon saw the car when he turned onto his block, pristine and shining under the sharp glare of the street lamps. It might not have given him pause, but for the men, two of them, dressed in crisp suits, loitering beside it. His heart leapt into his throat, and he stuttered to a stop, but the men had heard his shuffling steps, the pounding of his heart, and they had both turned to look at him.

He could run. But he had nowhere to run _to_ , and he wasn’t going to make this into an open pen version of a Chase. He wouldn’t be able to hide from an alpha that was truly determined to find him, not one who had the connections and resources that Han Sanghyuk had. And these men were certainly his; neither of them was the beta who had made the first visit, but they were oddly similar, uniform, like they’d all been grown in the same lab.

Tremors had begun to run through his limbs, and he clenched his teeth together to keep them from chattering. Really, he should have expected this. Maybe he sort of had. He made himself move, setting his sights beyond the pair of betas, to the gate in front of his apartment complex, like if he pretended they weren’t there, they’d let him pass by unbothered.

It was a delusional hope, because of course when he was level with the car, they blocked his path, making him stop. “Mr. Jung,” the one on the right said, placid like a dead sea, “you are requested to come with us.”

As the first man spoke, the second eased over the open the back door to the car, a clear sign of what they expected. It was telling that they didn’t feel the need to say why, or who had sent them. They had enough respect for Taekwoon’s intellect, it seemed. 

Taekwoon bit his bottom lip, and for all that they were calm, he felt like he had an electric current running under his skin. The stress was making him itch for a Shift, and his claws had begun to poke out just a bit. He swallowed thickly, wishing he could tamp down the panic bubbling in him. “I respectfully decline,” he murmured, the same thing he had said last time. Because that worked out so well. 

The betas shifted minutely at his words, but made no move to grab him. They seemed— reluctant, reluctant to touch him. Which would make sense, if they were bringing him in to be claimed. Their alpha wouldn’t want anyone else’s scent so fresh on his skin.

As if reading his mind, the beta who had originally spoken said, “We’ve been instructed not to bring you in unwillingly.” Taekwoon’s muscles eased a little, but it was too soon, because the beta wasn’t done. “However, we were also instructed to tell you that if you do not come willingly this time, that next time there will be more forceful means of persuasion.” 

The possibilities flickered through his mind. Walk away now, call the cops— the cops, the cops that were no doubt already bought. Or go into hiding, but again, he didn’t want to turn this into a Chase, with the whole world as the hunting ground, forever looking over his shoulder. He’d never thought he’d be on the precipice of such a hunt, Chases had died with the implement of the new laws. He didn’t _want_ this.

Taekwoon looked away, at the dirty concrete, streaked with grime, and whispered, “Where will you take me?”

The betas didn’t answer, but Taekwoon hadn’t really expected them to. His hands curled into fists, claws pricking at his palms, and squared his shoulders before stepping off the curb and folding himself into the backseat of the car. He did it quickly, before he lost his nerve, and the door closed after him. 

The seats were leather, and the car had that clean, almost new-car smell to it that Taekwoon might normally have found pleasant. With his heart near to beating out of his chest, he simply found the scent overwhelming and nauseating. 

The betas climbed into the two front seats and then the car was moving, smoothly pulling away from the curb, the engine a quiet hum. Taekwoon watched his apartment complex go past, and his hands clenched in the soft leather of the seat as he wondered if he’d ever come back. He was about to be fucked if he was lucky, maybe a little roughed up, maybe passed around, but if he was unlucky he’d be claimed, bonded, controlled, and then unluckier still he’d be dead at the bottom of the canal come morning. It was unheard of, really, murdered omegas, but Taekwoon was too frightened to be rational. Far more common was disfigured omegas, usually the result of rejecting an alpha. It was a recent phenomenon, surging after the new wave of laws. Because before the new laws, omegas couldn’t reject _anyone_.

Taekwoon fought to breathe. He wasn’t going to beg, he wasn’t going to show fear. His body, traitorous thing it was, was omega by blood, but his heart and mind weren’t, didn’t want to be.

They were heading downtown, he noted dimly, the buildings growing tall, glass fronted and stretching to the skies. There was minimal traffic, the night not exactly young anymore, but it was surreal for Taekwoon, watching the other cars zip by, the occasional person on the sidewalk. These people going about their civilized lives, while Taekwoon was being fucking _kidnapped_ , like it was hundreds of years ago and he was the last omega in a small village being brought to their local alpha princeling. A sacrifice, an offering, a birthright. Back when both omegas and alphas had been rare. 

He almost laughed, almost, when the car stopped in front of the towering skyscraper that was the main headquarters of Astra Pharmaceuticals. The virgin sacrifice had been taken to the castle, and what a caste it was, at least sixty stories high, tapering the higher it climbed. Taekwoon had half expected to be taken out of the city to a barn and held captive there, like an animal, and he wasn’t sure if this was better. Alphas. Taekwoon already hated Han Sanghyuk down to his marrow. Ostentatious, entitled little mafia prince. 

The betas climbed out of the car, and one of them opened Taekwoon’s door before he could even think to do it himself. Taekwoon climbed out, heart still pounding and limbs still shaking, but he felt an odd sort of peace settling over him, perhaps a result of the anger pooling in his belly. Anger was better than fear. 

The three of them, Taekwoon and his two beta guards, walked single file into the building. They were still taking care not to touch him, and he almost wanted to deliberately bump one of them, because he knew it would just piss everyone off. But he refrained, because he couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t end up being taken out on himself, too. He contented himself with the fact that he had most definitely poked some claw holes in that car’s nice upholstery. 

Most of the lights in the building were off, but Taekwoon retained enough of his wolf senses even when unshifted to be able to see the first floor of the building had a very high ceiling, decor sleek and shrieking of _discrete wealth_. There was a single guard down there, and he said nothing to them as they passed, heading for a row of large elevators.

Taekwoon’s heart began to pick up again when they got into the elevator— or rather, he got into the elevator and one beta followed. The other remained behind, and Taekwoon barely had time to register that before the doors were shutting.

 _Please don’t be taking me down_ , Taekwoon thought desperately. He didn’t know why he was so adverse to it— except nothing good could ever come from being kidnapped and then taken to a basement. 

But the beta pressed the button for floor number sixty two, and then the elevator was swooping upwards unnervingly smoothly. Taekwoon couldn’t help but wonder at them leaving him alone in such an enclosed space with a single beta to guard him. But he was in the heart of the hornet’s nest so perhaps even if he decided to go berserk and attack his one guard, it wouldn’t make a difference, in the end. The beta seemed unconcerned, and it made Taekwoon want to bare his teeth. 

The elevator climbed and climbed, Taekwoon’s ears popping twice. It seemed to take an eternity before it slowed and stopped, the motion lurching in Taekwoon’s gut. 

He didn’t know what he was expecting, but when the elevator’s doors opened he was surprised to simply see a wide, darkened reception hall. There was a high desk, where Taekwoon supposed a slim secretary would normally sit, a plush couch and glass coffee table with magazines artfully placed atop it, and a set of tall double doors. He couldn’t hear anyone, anything, but when he stepped out of the elevator he was hit with the potent scent of alpha, and his body reacted like a hook inside him had been yanked. He’d gotten a taste of it before but this— everything pitched, his senses going into overdrive even as blood rushed downwards. The smell wasn’t even that concentrated out here, but his omega body was attuned to anything to do with an alpha, cravings built up over the years. It was why he avoided the damn things like they were the plague. They basically were. 

Taekwoon could feel the flush on his cheeks, from both embarrassment as well as the heady rush of arousal. There was wetness starting between his legs, along with that horrible ache, of wanting to be laid down and taken, filled, and he _hated_ it. He wasn’t a bitch, and he wasn’t even in heat yet, though there was that familiar haze beginning to creep over his mind. 

The elevator doors closed behind him, and they took the light with them, making Taekwoon blink in the dimness. He turned and looked to his beta kidnapper, who was simply standing in front of the elevator doors with his arms crossed, apparently not going to come any further into the room. If he could smell Taekwoon’s sudden spike in arousal, and he almost certainly could, he didn’t show it.

Taekwoon stepped away from him, humiliated enough as it was, and his body was just getting more and more worked up, urging him to find the source of that smell, earthy and green and heady. He wanted to burrow himself in it, roll around in its source until it saturated him. 

The thought made him wetter, boxer briefs going damp with it, and the uncomfortable sensation brought him back, a little. He straightened his spine, head held high, despite the redness of his cheeks, the fact that his cock was a hard line in his jeans. No wonder people thought omegas were just fuckholes. He knew most of his kind tended to just give in to their natural reaction to alphas— and sometimes betas. God, Taekwoon couldn’t imagine how much more of a bitch his life would be if he reacted like this every time he caught a whiff of a beta. 

“What am I supposed to do?” he asked, snapping it out at the beta who was still standing implacably in front of the elevator, effectively blocking his exit. 

The beta looked past Taekwoon, to the set of closed double doors. Taekwoon turned too. He couldn’t hear anything beyond them, but it was probably some kind of conference room, or big wig office, and thus most likely thoroughly soundproofed. 

The indication was clear, but Taekwoon didn't like going in blind like this, didn’t like not knowing how many wolves waited for him inside. But if he was going to do this, he’d rather do it before he melted any further into a puddle of omega goo, so he strode to the wooden doors before pausing. He had the urge to knock, but that was stupid, so he simply grabbed the handle and pushed. It was, somewhat surprisingly, unlocked, and the door swung inwards easily. 

It hit him before he could make an attempt to process it, the smell, and he would swear he blacked out for a flicker, unable to see, hear, feel. The rush of slickness between his legs might have made him wince, but he found himself suddenly struggling to stand, his legs going shaky and weak. He leaned against the doorframe, breathing heavily through his mouth, vision still spotty, because that smell, that _smell_ —

 _No_ , Taekwoon thought, shaking his head like he was trying to clear water from his ears. As if he could make his body stop this with sheer force of will. Or humiliation. He was so weak. 

“Come in the rest of the way,” a voice said, and Taekwoon knew it was him, the source of the smell. The alpha. “And close the door.”

Taekwoon obeyed numbly and somewhat clumsily, and once the door was closed he leaned back against it, finally able to raise his head and look around. 

His brain seemed to be functioning as clunkily as his body, and he took things in with short flashes. Dark room, spacious, office, heavy wooden desk. There was only the alpha in there with him, which surprised him, a little, that there weren’t even guards. But he wasn’t exactly a threat, wobbly omega he was. 

Han Sanghyuk was taller than he looked on television, taller even than Taekwoon. He was wearing a suit, tapered, that accentuated his wide shoulders and narrow waist, the long length of his legs. He was beautiful, cheekbones as sharp as his suit, and that wasn’t Taekwoon’s omega-weak brain going at it, it was simple observation.

Taekwoon grit his teeth, feeling them sharpen a little. He hated this alpha, hated him with every fiber of his being for this, and the anger made it easier to fight past the instinctual arousal. 

“You’re a pretty one,” Sanghyuk said, but without any particular interest. It was mildly insulting. He came around to the front of his desk so he could lean back on the edge of it casually, head cocked to the side. “Are you in heat already?” he asked, and Taekwoon growled, which was rude and downright insubordinate, but it just made Sanghyuk smile. “Or just that desperate for me?”

“You can’t do this,” Taekwoon said, and the alpha’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, at the soft sound of his voice. His voice, which gave away what he was despite his height, despite his broadness. Taekwoon pressed on even though the shame of it all threatened to overwhelm him. “There are laws, you can’t just— just abduct me—”

Sanghyuk’s eyebrows rose in affectation. “You were abducted? I was under the impression you’d come willingly.”

“You—” Taekwoon cut himself off, anger sweeping through him. Of course the alpha would never admit to anything. Sanghyuk looked mildly amused, and Taekwoon felt foolish, standing there with slick between his legs, his skin positively tingling, brought low simply by the alpha being near him. “Why am I here?”

“Merely for a chat,” Sanghyuk said, soft smile still curling his lips. There was amusement dancing in his eyes; he was enjoying Taekwoon’s humiliation, which was possibly the point of this. He knew, surely, it being so close to heat weak, that being near him would set Taekwoon off. More so because of the location— this may have only been Sanghyuk’s office for the past week or so but the place already reeked of him. “I missed you last night. You were the only local omega to reject my heat week invitation.”

Through the anger, humiliation, arousal, Taekwoon found himself slightly stunned by that. The _only_ one? He’d painted a target on his own back, but he hadn’t thought— it was known what Sanghyuk was, rich and powerful to be sure, but he was also dangerous, a flame not to be played with. Omegas were fucking stupid, but it made sense, now. With the alpha title newly acquired, and a high profile one to boot, of course Sanghyuk would want to squash out possible insubordination where he saw it, even if it came in the form of a lowly omega. Things were still too fresh, too shaky. He couldn’t exactly take chances.

He was smart, for a kid, and Taekwoon understood it, but he hated him all the same.

“It wasn’t meant to be an act of defiance,” Taekwoon grit out, and Sanghyuk’s expression didn’t change, but something about his eyes grew sharper. “Or a challenge.”

Sanghyuk pushed off the edge of the desk, standing at his full height and taking a step closer, slow. Taekwoon shrank back against the wood, not sure he could survive Sanghyuk coming any nearer. He was starting to feel high, dazed, and he could smell his own arousal now, thick in the air, his body letting out pheromones because it wanted to be claimed. He knew that no matter how aloof Sanghyuk was about him, the smell would be enticing, to say the least. 

“You say it wasn’t done out of defiance,” Sanghyuk said softly, calmly, taking another step forward, and Taekwoon’s eyes flashed blue, “and yet you definitely are defiant, Taekwoon.”

The sound of his name being spoken made Taekwoon shiver reflexively. His inner thighs were soaked, feeling sticky, and he’d dug his claws into the wood behind himself, because he was beginning to want to lean forward, to meet Sanghyuk, press their bodies together and let Sanghyuk have him. 

His body wanted it. Taekwoon dug his claws into the wood harder, a low growl rumbling in him.

“I’m not anyone’s bitch,” Taekwoon said. Sanghyuk stopped, just within arm’s reach of Taekwoon, and even though he wasn’t overly close, Taekwoon felt cloistered, trapped. The urge to Shift was making him jittery, energy flickering over his skin. But Shifting would almost definitely be taken as a Challenge, and Taekwoon knew he’d never be able to win in a fight against Sanghyuk. The boy may have been a beta before, but every line of his body bled alpha. He’d probably been brought up with the knowledge that he would one day be one, one way or another. “I have no political affiliations, no feelings on your ascension here. I just don’t want to be your heat week plaything.”

“Are you pre-bonded?” Sanghyuk asked, and Taekwoon could lie, Hakyeon had always been willing to corroborate that he and Taekwoon were pre-bonded, but considering Hakyeon’s family was on the edges of this— he didn’t want to risk them.

It was a simple question, and Taekwoon took a bit too much time to answer it, but Sanghyuk didn’t rush him. Why would he, when Taekwoon was the one falling apart by the minute, steadily losing control. His body felt so warm, not heat feverish yet, but still unpleasant. There was sweat prickling at his hairline, dripping along his temples. 

Finally, Taekwoon shook his head, murmuring, “No.”

“So you have no good reason to reject me,” Sanghyuk said, arching an eyebrow, “other than the fact that you’re too proud, and seem to have forgotten your place.” 

It clicked, then, that Taekwoon had, perhaps, also injured this alpha’s pride. The spoiled brat was probably used to always getting what he wanted. Taekwoon knew the smart thing to do right now would be to bare his neck, rescind his rejection formally. But humiliation burned strong in his belly, and he would rather chew his hand off than submit. 

“The fact that I don’t want you should be enough,” Taekwoon said, and for the first time, Sanghyuk’s eyes flashed red. It made Taekwoon want to flop on the floor belly up, but he settled for cringing. “This is the twenty-first century, we don’t hold to the old laws anymore. I don’t need a reason other than I simply don’t want you.”

The fear was back as Sanghyuk stared at him, all amusement gone from his handsome young features. Of course Taekwoon could say all that, but the reality of it wasn’t always so. Alphas didn’t take baseless rejection well. And Sanghyuk was close, close enough that he could rake claws across Taekwoon, and Taekwoon would heal, but alpha wounds scarred. 

Taekwoon’s eyes flickered down, and Sanghyuk’s hands were still human, nails blunt and relatively harmless. His irises had gone back to being black in the darkness. 

Then he was in Taekwoon’s space, stepping forward quickly and boxing Taekwoon’s in against the door. Taekwoon made a little involuntary noise, somewhere between a squeak of fear and a moan of sheer arousal because _fuck_ Taekwoon could feel Sanghyuk’s warmth, he was so close. He made himself hold absolutely still, shaking with the effort of it, because if he let go, he wasn’t entirely sure what he would do.

Sanghyuk smelled like a forest on a summer day, emerald and earthy, like bruised leaves. 

Taekwoon fixed his gaze beyond Sanghyuk’s shoulder, on the smoke detector on the ceiling, like if he concentrated on something insubstantial it would ground him. He couldn’t look at Sanghyuk, but he felt his gaze heavy on his skin, could almost feel the alpha’s breath on his face. 

“You’re so proud,” Sanghyuk whispered, breathing it out like he was almost awed by it. “How did the alphas in your area let you get so bad?”

He seemed to be talking more to himself, than Taekwoon, but Taekwoon bristled at his words all the same. The idea that Taekwoon needed to be brought to heel, trained, grated on him. It was exactly why he’d avoided being mated all his life. 

“I want to leave,” Taekwoon said, gritting it out through sharp teeth, still not looking at Sanghyuk. “Will you let me go? Or are you going to claim me by force?”

The humor came back to Sanghyuk’s features as he smiled, pleasant, too pleasant. “This is the twenty-first century, Taekwoon,” he said, in obvious mockery of what Taekwoon said earlier, and Taekwoon’s cheeks burned. “That doesn’t happen anymore. There are laws, after all.”

Taekwoon braced himself, taking a breath in through his mouth, and then made himself meet Sanghyuk’s eyes. For all that his posture was one of lazy indifference, there was a spark in his eyes. “Are you going to mark me?” Taekwoon asked in a whisper, hating how his voice trembled. It wasn’t legal, for an alpha to disfigure an omega, but it was a crime rarely punished. 

Sanghyuk’s eyebrows rose, a little. “There are laws against that too,” he said, with a little affectation of shock. He was teasing Taekwoon, and abruptly Taekwoon remembered that this boy had murdered another man. Yes, it had been legal, witnessed, but that didn’t make it less than what it was. 

“Are you going to kill me?” Taekwoon asked, the fear in him resurging.

“That is _really_ illegal,” Sanghyuk said. They both knew that had exactly zero relevance on things.

Taekwoon scowled up at Sanghyuk, who smiled in return, his eyes closing halfway as he inhaled deeply, smelling Taekwoon’s renewed fear, but more thickly his omega pheromones, his arousal. Taekwoon was beginning to feel actual pain, the ache between his legs starting to feel sharp, his cock sensitive in his stiff denim jeans. 

Sanghyuk’s eyes opened again “You’ve never been fucked, have you, Taekwoon?” he murmured. Of course he’d be able to smell that on him, the sharpness of his arousal would be a dead giveaway of never having been truly sated. “You’ve spent your heats alone, year after year. Submitting is sweeter, you know.”

“How would you know?” Taekwoon snapped, angry over the way his heart was pounding anew, the haze at the edges of his vision. It took everything he had, but he pushed away from the door, ducking away from Sanghyuk into the open space of the room. His legs shook a little, but he did it. He reached one of the plush visitor chairs and put a hand on the back of it, bracing himself. “You were a beta before, and you’re a baby alpha now—”

Sanghyuk was in front of him in a flash, grabbing at him, and Taekwoon cried out in surprise and fear, rearing back, but he was too weak, too slow and he found himself caught, one of Sanghyuk’s arms wrapped around the small of his back, holding Taekwoon firmly against his body. His other hand went up to tangle in Taekwoon’s hair, yanking his head back firmly so the long line of his throat was bared. Taekwoon placed his hands on Sanghyuk’s chest, trying to wedge his arms between them like that could protect him from the teeth inches from his throat. 

Even through the fear, Sanghyuk’s touch was electrifying, and Taekwoon was making soft, high whimpery sorts of sounds as he squirmed, trying to get away, or get closer. He wasn’t sure. 

Taekwoon’s hair was being pulled so hard his neck was getting a crick, and he couldn’t _see_ , eyes staring up at the ceiling blankly. But he could feel Sanghyuk’s breath on his neck, feel Sanghyuk’s chest heaving under his palms, and he could smell— alpha, yes, but there was the fresh, sort of ozone scent of magic in the air. He’d almost pushed Sanghyuk into a Shift. Not one of his better, or smarter, moments.

He flinched, keening, when Sanghyuk’s mouth was suddenly near his ear, lips brushing the shell. “I’ve fucked omegas even when I was a beta,” Sanghyuk hissed, and Taekwoon tried to wriggle away from him, but was held still. “They always came back and begged for more, because that’s what omegas do, that’s what you are.”

“I wouldn’t,” Taekwoon panted, and his claws had come out, pricking into the material of Sanghyuk’s pristine suit. He was so wet, so slick, and so near to orgasm just from being pressed against Sanghyuk’s body. He needed to get away. “I don’t want you.”

“Oh?” Sanghyuk breathed, and then he was letting go of Taekwoon’s hair, his hand sliding down over the back of Taekwoon’s neck, down the curve of his spine. 

Taekwoon was so glad for the ability to tuck his chin down, protect his neck, that he didn’t realize what Sanghyuk was doing until he had fingertips sneaking under the back waistband of his jeans, his boxer briefs. He began to squirm again in earnest, but the arm around his waist simply tightened, holding him in place.

“No—” Taekwoon gasped, sure he would die from the shame, but Sanghyuk’s hand had already worked its way into his pants, fingers dipping into the cleft of his ass where he was slick and hot. Taekwoon stopped squirming and slumped, practically going limp, forehead resting on Sanghyuk’s sternum as Sanghyuk pressed two fingertips against his entrance, more gently than Taekwoon would have expected him to. 

“You’re so wet,” Sanghyuk whispered, and Taekwoon shuddered against him. Of course, Sanghyuk had surely been able to smell it before, but now he could feel— feel the evidence of Taekwoon’s weakness— “You’re soaked and loose, ready for me. Should I fuck you, Taekwoon. Should I?”

Taekwoon couldn’t even speak, just shook his head minutely. 

Sanghyuk didn’t breach him, simply teased, his fingers lightly stroking over where Taekwoon was swollen and sensitive and wanting. Instinctively, Taekwoon parted his legs a little, then promptly wanted to crawl out of his own skin. “You should be begging me to take you,” Sanghyuk murmured, and Taekwoon shook his head again. “I could fuck you so good you’d kill your best friend to get another taste of my cock. Your pride can’t change what you are, what you want, fuck—” He nuzzled against Taekwoon’s temple, inhaling his scent. “Beg me for it.”

Again, Taekwoon shook his head. “I hate you,” he said thickly, tears pricking at his eyes from the effort of holding himself back. All he wanted was to grind back against Sanghyuk’s fingers, feel him inside himself, satiate this _ache_. “I don’t want you.”

“Final answer?” Sanghyuk asked softly. 

Taekwoon nodded, and suddenly Sanghyuk’s teasing fingertips were gone, his hand pulling out of Taekwoon’s jeans. The sound that wrenched itself out of Taekwoon at the loss was utterly involuntary, high and pained. 

The arm that Sanghyuk had around Taekwoon’s waist loosened enough that Taekwoon could fall back a little, could see when Sanghyuk brought his hand up to Taekwoon’s eye level, his first two fingers covered in Taekwoon’s slick, nearly dripping. Taekwoon could feel the blush rising from his neck, the humiliation more than he could take.

“If you don’t want me, then why are you so wet, you little bitch,” Sanghyuk whispered, parting his fingers so Taekwoon could see the stickiness clinging between them. 

Taekwoon looked at Sanghyuk’s face hatefully. “Because I’m an omega,” Taekwoon spat, “and you’re an alpha. And— and—”

“And no matter how prideful you are, no matter how much you fight it, you’ll always be ready for me, wet and loose and tender like a proper breeder,” Sanghyuk said, a smirk that looked almost like a snarl twisting his lips. Quickly, before Taekwoon could think to pull away, Sanghyuk had dragged his slick-damp fingers across Taekwoon’s mouth, leaving a trail of wetness diagonally across Taekwoon’s lips. Then he let Taekwoon go before he could even begin sputtering, moving away so Taekwoon had to lean on the edge of the desk, the scent of his own arousal burning in his nostrils.

Taekwoon was dazed from the loss of contact, his body shimmering with odd little shocks of sensation. He watched, wide eyed as Sanghyuk moved to the other side of the desk, grabbing a tissue and wiping his fingers off with it casually. “You’re going to regret not letting me fuck you,” he said, and while the words were threatening, his tone was almost cheerful. He tossed the tissue into a shiny metal receptacle, and it made Taekwoon painfully aware of the mess still inside his jeans. “You’re too far gone, you won’t be able to pull back.”

Taekwoon blinked, not entirely sure what that meant. Sanghyuk seemed— perfectly put back together, now, though he took a second to straighten his suit jacket, fingers ghosting over the pinpricks Taekwoon’s claws had left in the lapels. He wasn’t even hard, and Taekwoon couldn’t smell any arousal aside from his own. The knowledge was horrific. 

When Sanghyuk looked back up at him, he looked almost confused. “You can go,” he said, in a tone which said Taekwoon should have already been aware he’d been dismissed. 

“That’s it?” Taekwoon asked, as if it hadn’t been enough. “You— you’re not going to—”

Sanghyuk raised his eyebrow, and it made Taekwoon feel small, also annoyed. He was beginning to want to slap Sanghyuk’s eyebrows right off his smug pretty face. “I know my own worth,” Sanghyuk said simply, “and I’m not going to give you my cock if you’re going to keep insisting you don’t want it, even though we both know you’re aching for it.” 

He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and at the words Taekwoon’s cock throbbed in his jeans, and he prayed Sanghyuk hadn’t noticed. If he did, he gave no indication of it. His disinterest made Taekwoon’s desperation for his touch that much worse.

“As for anything else—” Sanghyuk said, grinning when Taekwoon tensed, “I’m within my rights to mark you, but it would be a shame, to mar such a lovely face.” He laughed a little, at Taekwoon’s expression. “And I think you’ve gotten the point even without it, haven’t you, my little fucktoy?”

Taekwoon swallowed. Yes. He’d gotten the point. He’d been reminded of who he was, what he was, and the shame would lay heavy on him like a second skin for a long while, yet. He was weak, he was made to be used by creatures like Sanghyuk. 

He nodded, and Sanghyuk looked content. “You’re welcome,” Sanghyuk said briskly, before turning away to look out the large windows. “Do keep in touch, I’m quite interested how long it will take before the lesson sinks in. Now get out.”

It was a command, barked out, and Taekwoon found himself scurrying for the door, still confused and aroused but glad to get getting out of there. The beta was waiting for him outside the door, and from behind him, he heard Sanghyuk murmur for him to be taken home, untouched.

Taekwoon wondered if he was really getting away so unharmed, if this wasn’t some ploy, and the thought made his heart rate kick up again when he was in the elevator. But the beta really didn’t touch him, and soon Taekwoon was back in the backseat of that same black car, claws pricking into the upholstery again.

 _You’ll regret it_ , Sanghyuk had said, and Taekwoon heard it over and over in his head as downtown flickered by. Focusing on it was easier than letting the humiliation overtake him, as his scent filled the car, the smell of his fear and arousal and Sanghyuk, Sanghyuk all over him. 

They took him home, and Taekwoon was so keyed up, imaging every gory scenario, that he was actually surprised by it. They didn’t open his door for him this time; he was forced to fumble with the latch himself, but then he was out in the fresh night air and the car pulled away from the curb, leaving him alone. 

It was possible there would be something waiting in his apartment, so he opened his front door with trepidation, even though he smelled nothing amiss. He was dazed, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but there was quiet, peace, in the empty space of his apartment. 

Taekwoon leaned back against the door and let himself slide down to the floor. He was soaked between his legs, and it was cold and gross and he hated it. Not to mention he was curiously tender, and the denim of his jeans was chafing. 

_You’ll regret it_. Taekwoon wished he knew why.

——

He regretted it. Not the fact that he hadn’t let Sanghyuk mate him, but his own fucking curiosity. Of course it wouldn’t be so simple.

Taekwoon had been dealing with his heats mostly alone since, well, since he’d started having them. He used suppressant patches to take the worst of the edge off, and took care of himself as best he could for the rest of it. But jerking himself off was never truly satisfying, neither was lying with another omega, and it was always a miserable week for him. He needed an alpha’s touch to truly sate him, or so he’d heard. But he had never tested that theory first hand, and as the years went by his heats sort of seemed to build on themselves, getting more and more uncomfortable, more intense.

But this, this was something else.

He woke the morning after his encounter with Sanghyuk in full heat, and that was ridiculous, considering heat week hadn’t even properly started. It had just overtaken him, brought on early no doubt by Sanghyuk’s pheromones, his touch. Fucking alphas. Taekwoon felt like he was on fire, his skin so flushed and oversensitive his sheets may as well have been made of sandpaper. He’d wriggled out of his pajamas in his sleep, and he shoved the sheets off his body so he could have some cool air on his overheated skin. His inner thighs were a mess of stickiness, shining wetly, and his cock was hard and reddened, precome leaking out of the tip onto his belly. 

He reached down to touch himself, just to see, and then promptly snatched his hand back because he was so sensitive it _hurt_. “Oh gods,” he whimpered, breathing deeply through his nostrils while he steeled himself. Carefully, gently, he touched his thumb to the underside of his cock, the sensitive spot just under the head. He hissed at the contact, a jolt of precome leaking out, but he persisted, rubbing softly under the head, and he was so oversensitive and aroused already that it took approximately five seconds of that before he was coming, orgasm shivering through him. 

Normally he’d be granted a little reprieve, a slight lessening of sensitivity, for an hour or two, before it came back and he’d have to jerk off again. But not this time. No, he lay there, panting, come streaked across his stomach, and nothing at all happened. His cock didn’t soften, and he was still on fire. 

He could feel Sanghyuk’s touch on him. 

“Fuck,” Taekwoon moaned, and he reached for his phone, fumbling to type of a text to Hakyeon. _In heat, need help_ , was all he could get out before sending. He tossed his phone away and stood, actually crying out when he attempted to walk because of how it jostled him. In the end he did a sort of ridiculous, sideways crab walk to the bathroom so he could plug up the tub and fill it with cold water. 

While he waited for the water to fill the tub he looked in the mirror. His cheeks were so red, so flushed, he looked almost sunburned, and his hair was sticking to his face with sweat, drips running along his skin. Hakyeon didn’t need to see him like this, so Taekwoon shut the bathroom door, but didn’t lock it.

The bathtub wasn’t full but Taekwoon was pretty sure he was dying, so he let himself flop into it, water freezing cold and making him give an unmanly shriek. But he needed it, needed to lower his fever, and being numb was better than this _fire_. So he forced himself to lay in the tub as it filled around him, body shaking. Once the water was sloshing around his chest, he turned the tap off.

It was quiet except for his own ragged breathing, the sound echoing back to him in the little room. In the silence of the house, he heard Hakyeon arrive, heard him let himself in— Taekwoon had given him a key for exactly this. Well, maybe not this exactly, but for moments when Taekwoon needed a little help. He trusted Hakyeon. 

He heard Hakyeon’s footsteps approach the bathroom door, heard him stop outside it. Since he was a beta he wouldn’t be overly affected by Taekwoon’s heat pheromones. Betas didn’t go into heat, so Hakyeon didn’t know exactly what it was like, but he had always been sympathetic. He could imagine it well enough, probably.

There came a tentative tapping on the door. “Taekwoon?” Hakyeon called, voice slightly muffled through the wood. “Are you—”

“I’m in the bath,” Taekwoon replied, voice husky. He was thirsty, mouth dry. That would be the fever. “I’m— I needed to cool down.”

A pause. “Can I come in?”

Taekwoon reached for the shower curtain, tugging it so Hakyeon would be able to see his face but nothing more, not unless he popped his head in and deliberately looked. “Yes.”

The door opened and Hakyeon stepped inside, nose wrinkling briefly from the sharp smell of _omega in heat_. Taekwoon sunk down further in the water, until his mouth was in it, knees bending and poking out as a cost.

Hakyeon stopped by the edge of the tub, hands on his hips, though his expression was soft. “Oh, Taek,” he murmured, and Taekwoon blew sullen bubbles at him. “What happened? You’re days early.”

Taekwoon wasn’t sure he should tell him, wasn’t sure if it would put Hakyeon in danger. But he knew that even if Hakyeon had a big fucking mouth at times, he also knew when to keep that big mouth shut. So Taekwoon tipped his head up, getting his mouth up out of the water so he could speak. “I got brought in, last night, to see our new prominent alpha,” he murmured, and Hakyeon was frowning. “Han Sanghyuk.”

Hakyeon’s hands closed into fists at his side. “What did he do?” he said softly, voice gone a bit dangerous. Taekwoon appreciated the thought, but it wasn’t as if Hakyeon had the power to do anything.

“Reminded me what I was,” Taekwoon whispered, looking at his own knees, sticking out from the water, pink and damp. The water was warming, just slightly, from his body heat, getting to a temperature that was less freezing and more simply refreshing. “You know he sent out invites to the unmated omegas in the area. For heat week. I was apparently the only one who said no.”

There was a pause and then Hakyeon let out a heavy sigh and sank down beside the tub, crossing his arms on the porcelain edge so he could rest his chin on them. “Taekwoon,” he murmured, and Taekwoon refused to look at him. “Did he—”

“No,” Taekwoon said, blushing anyway, his ears warming with it. He tipped his head back, so the water saturated his hair, the cold a relief, before righting himself again. “He touched me though, and I was in a room alone with him for a while. It— it seems to have brought my heat on early, and stronger than usual.” He could feel his voice getting quavery, and he felt like such a baby. “I didn’t put a suppressant patch on before it hit, so it— I’m hurting.”

Hakyeon reached over and carefully laid his hand on Taekwoon’s forehead, frowning. His scent wafted over Taekwoon, and he tensed. Hakyeon’s beta scent wasn’t normally anything enticing, but Taekwoon was heat-desperate, right now. He figured an eggplant would look fucking appealing in the state he was in.

Hakyeon had the decency not to mention the way Taekwoon had gone rigid at his touch. “You’re very warm,” he said, retracting his hand.

“I’m not as hot as I was,” Taekwoon admitted, and that made Hakyeon frown harder.

“I can get you some emergency suppressant pills, even in heat it isn’t good for you to be so feverish,” Hakyeon offered, and Taekwoon felt relief and gratefulness sweep through him. It could be difficult, for omegas to get access to the better drugs, but Hakyeon was a beta, and had connections as well. Taekwoon nodded, and Hakyeon stood. “Will you be okay for like an hour while I run out to get them?”

“I think so,” Taekwoon replied and Hakyeon nodded in turn, moving to leave. “Ah, Hakyeon—” Taekwoon called, and Hakyeon turned back, his eyebrow cocked quizzically. “Can you get me a glass of ice water before you go?” Taekwoon asked, voice small. 

Hakyeon’s quizzical expression was replaced with something softer. “Of course, Taek.”

——

The pills worked, Taekwoon supposed. The problem was he’d always kept religious track of his heats before, clipping them with the suppressant patches before they could start. So he didn’t know, now, if this heat was simply especially awful, or if his heats would usually be like this, without the use of restrictive chemicals. 

Truth be told, he didn’t think his heats would be like this normally. It was too overwhelming. Even with the pills he was feverish; they simply took the edge off enough that he wasn’t in pain. Too much pain. He still ached between his legs, where Sanghyuk had touched him. In most of his heats he’d jerk off and finger himself in equal amounts, but he found he was far too sore to fuck himself, even though he was positively aching to be filled. Trying had brought him to tears. His body wanted an alpha, and nothing else would do. 

What Taekwoon was really worried about was— would his heats be like this from now on? He’d read that once an omega was had by an alpha, they wouldn’t be able to go back from it. Sanghyuk hadn’t fucked him, but it was beginning to look like that didn’t matter. Taekwoon could get through this heat, maybe, white knuckling it by holding onto the fact that it would be over in a week, possibly less— his heats were often only three or four days. He had no mate, after all. But the thought that he was going to suffer like this once a year for the rest of his _life_ — that was daunting. 

Hakyeon kept popping by, usually in the afternoons, to make sure Taekwoon was still hydrated, and that his fever hadn’t spiked again. Jaehwan had made noises about coming over, but Taekwoon wasn’t sure if the intensity of this heat would be contagious. And he wasn’t sure he was up for any frotting, anyway. Not with another omega. 

So instead he spent the subsequent couple of days mostly alone, usually on the couch naked, with a towel under himself to prevent too much mess and the television perpetually on as a light distraction. He found himself too dazed, most of the time, to really be bored. It was like his head had been stuffed with cotton balls, and when it got too intense he would jerk off, and the haze would subside some. His dick was beginning to chafe though. 

It was closer now, to the lunar heat week. All the heat week selections had been made, so the news was beginning to run coverage on it, because the people loved shitty reality television. Everyone wanted to know who the prominent alphas had picked, what did they look like. It was a strange fascination. 

There’d been some shindig last night, cameras actually allowed, and the news station was showing footage from it. Taekwoon growled in annoyance at the screen as he carefully spooned cereal into his mouth, like some kind of invalid. He felt like he’d had the flu for days, weak in that same way, and just— wet. Sweaty and slick. He was contemplating moving the tv into the bathroom since he was half living in cold baths. 

The volume was on low, and Taekwoon wasn’t ready, wasn’t ready for when the news switched to interviews from the previous night, the camera panning around a ballroom full of golden lights and glittering gowns, before landing on Han Sanghyuk, newly arriving with a radiant brunette omega on his arm. She was small, waist petite, like a proper omega should be. Taekwoon froze, watching Sanghyuk move like it was a compulsion. His heart had begun to pound, blood coming to the surface of his skin in a sweeping flush. 

Of course Taekwoon should have expected it, expected to see him, he was the new talk of the town, but—

The reporter stepped forward, and Sanghyuk murmured, “No questions.” 

At the low sound of his voice Taekwoon’s body flashed white hot, barely catching Sanghyuk’s sharp smile before he was squeezing his eyes shut over the onslaught of sensations. He could feel Sanghyuk’s fingers, on him, inside him, feel his body lined up against Taekwoon’s own, the smell of him—

Taekwoon screamed, back arching sharply as heat ripped through him. He was coming, from _nothing_ , clenching down on emptiness and feeling come splatter across his stomach, chest, hot and thick. It crested over him like a wave and took far too long to recede, long enough that he was still coming even after his body had run dry, cock twitching in the empty air, body straining for gods only knew what. 

When it was finally over he sank back into the couch, gasping for breath, everything trembling from how hard he’d been tensed. His palms were bleeding from his own claws digging into them. He didn’t know if he was blinking tears or sweat out of his eyes.

His fever was back, he could tell, he was burning up. That— he didn’t know what that had been, but it wasn’t good. What had Sanghyuk _done_? This had to be some— some kind of dark magic—

Blindly, he reached to the coffee table, flailing for his phone and shakily dialing the directory.

“I need to be connected to Astra Pharmaceuticals,” Taekwoon said, voice breathless and trembling. He could tell the chipper woman on the other end of the line wanted to tell him that if this was a medical emergency, he should be contacting the paramedics, but instead she asked what department he needed to reach. “Han Sanghyuk’s office.”

It took a few seconds of typing noises, but then she told him to hold. 

He’d be lucky if he got connected to anyone who could get him ahold of Sanghyuk, if he was even in today— it was a Saturday morning, almost afternoon, but pre-heat week most alphas and omegas worked right up until heat week kicked off officially, since they wouldn’t be able to do any sort of work when in heat. Taekwoon hoped—

The hold music cut off abruptly and a different female voice came through, a lot less chipper and a lot more brusque. “This is Bora Kim of Astra Pharmaceuticals, you’ve reached the office of CEO Han Sanghyuk. It should be noted we do not take press calls or—”

“No, I’m not press,” he said, fighting to make his voice steady. Briefly, Taekwoon wondered if she was sitting at that high desk he’d seen on his visit, or if he hadn’t actually been patched all the way through. “My name is Jung Taekwoon, I had a— a meeting a few days ago, with— with CEO Han.” He swallowed thickly. “I would like to speak with him.”

He heard clicking. “I do not see your name on the recent schedules,” she said, and if her tone had been brusque before it was downright cold now.

“It wasn’t the kind of meeting you put in a planner,” he said softly, shame sitting heavy in his stomach. “He— he told me to check back in with him. Please, if he’s available just— just tell him I’m—”

“Hold,” she said, and she cut off to be replaced with tinkling, light piano music. 

He waited, holding his breath, fully expecting to be hung up on. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but then the music cut out, and Taekwoon’s stomach dropped, wondering—

“Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk purred from over the line, and Taekwoon couldn’t muffle his gasp fast enough, cock twitching out a jolt of precome. There was the sound of rustling, from Sanghyuk’s end, and Taekwoon hoped whatever he was doing was distracting him from the harsh sounds of Taekwoon’s breathing. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to call.”

Taekwoon fisted his free hand in the couch cushion because he was coming again, dry. It was gentler, this time, and he only let out a small whimper as he shivered with aftershocks. He blinked the stars out of his vision, getting his bearings together enough to gasp out, “What did you _do_ to me?” 

Sanghyuk chuckled lowly, and Taekwoon made a noise, soft and high, as Sanghyuk’s laughter reverberated over him. “Oh, you poor little thing,” Sanghyuk murmured, and even though Taekwoon was a shuddering mess, he managed to growl. “Does it hurt, Taekwoon?”

“No—”

“Are you aching for me yet?” Sanghyuk continued, ruthless. “Want me to fill up your wet cunt, with my fingers, my cock, fuck you until you’re sore?” 

“Stop,” Taekwoon sobbed, the pain too much to bear as the images flashed through his mind.

Sanghyuk’s voice dropped. “Do you want my knot?”

Taekwoon let the phone go in favor of scrambling at one of the couch cushions, bringing it to his face so he could scream into it, muffled. Eventually the screams melted off into sobs, and his tears burned. 

When Taekwoon had come back to himself enough to go searching for the phone, he found it had bounced off the edge of the couch and onto the carpeted floor. The call was still going, and he pressed the phone to his ear, shocked Sanghyuk hadn’t hung up.

“What did you do to me?” Taekwoon asked again, the barest of whispers.

“I told you you’d regret it,” Sanghyuk said, though he sounded a little subdued. “I must admit though, I wasn’t expecting such an intense response.”

Taekwoon grit his teeth, anger swelling up in him. “You have no idea what it’s like, you’ve never had a heat—”

“I will soon,” Sanghyuk said with a sigh, cutting him off. “Did you see my heat mate? She’s quite pretty. I prefer girls, you know, though I’ve had boys too. Omegas are omegas. You’ve all got cunts.”

Taekwoon growled. Yes, he knew about Sanghyuk’s preferences, Hakyeon had told him. _You should have accepted the invite_ , he’d said. _He probably wouldn’t have even picked you, he likes girls_.

“You’re a bastard,” Taekwoon whispered, and Sanghyuk laughed. 

“I’ve been told,” he said, the amusement still thick in his voice. “But some friendly advice, Taekwoon, from this bastard: go find an alpha to stuff you full, you’ll feel better for it.”

Taekwoon shook his head even though Sanghyuk couldn't see it. He didn’t want that, and he didn’t think it would work. He was coming to a horrific realization. “You don’t get it,” he hissed, “it’s— it’s _you_. I’ve never had a reaction to an alpha like this, even just your voice— you did _something_ —”

“I woke your body up,” Sanghyuk said simply. The tone of his voice was almost bored. “I mean, if you’re reacting to me very strongly—” He cut off, for a moment, before breathing, “Oh, oh sweetling, did you imprint on me?” 

Taekwoon didn’t answer, too humiliated, but his silence was enough, and then Sanghyuk was laughing, loud and jarring, and it went on and on. By the time he stopped Taekwoon was damn near hanging up and accepting death. 

“That’s very unfortunate, Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk said finally, still chuckling, and Taekwoon wished he could rip his throat out.

“I’m going to have to be hospitalized soon,” he spat, and that stopped Sanghyuk’s little giggles. No one wanted dead omegas. “My fevers are pitching too high.”

Sanghyuk heaved a sigh. “Omegas,” he muttered. “Such drama.” Taekwoon inhaled sharply at that, outraged, but Sanghyuk was continuing. “I should let you suffer, I don’t like defiance,” he said, musingly, “but maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll give you the fuck you’re gagging for.”

That stopped Taekwoon dead. “I don’t want to fuck you,” he said, “I don’t— I just— I want it to stop—”

“And how do you suppose that is supposed to happen?” Sanghyuk snapped. “You’re so— someone as wet between the legs as you are shouldn't be nearly so prideful. You should be _thanking_ me for the offer.”

Tears stung at Taekwoon’s eyes. He never thought he could hate someone else as much as he hated himself, but he was getting there, with Sanghyuk. “And a kid who hasn’t even had a heat yet shouldn’t have a fucking head as swollen as yours, and yet here we are,” Taekwoon bit out, then held his breath as he realized what he’d said.

There was silence, from the other end of the line, and Taekwoon couldn’t even hear Sanghyuk’s breathing, just the static of the connection. 

“You are—” Sanghyuk breathed, then cut himself off, like he didn’t know what Taekwoon was. “I’m going to have you, in the end. I’m going to have you knotted on my cock, full of my come, and afterwards when we’re done you’re going to lick my cock clean.”

Taekwoon felt like a hook was twisting inside him, because he wanted it, he wanted all of it down to his core, but he hated the thought of it. “Burn in hell,” Taekwoon whispered.

“I—” Sanghyuk stopped talking, and even Taekwoon had heard the knock, but he couldn’t make out the murmur of voices. When Sanghyuk came back, he spoke quickly. “I have a meeting now, and I’m going to give you my personal cell number, so you can call me when you’re ready to beg me for my favors like a good little bitch.”

Taekwoon found himself scrambling for a pen and notepad, and hated himself for being so desperate. _I’m not going to call_ , he thought, even as he scribbled the numbers down. _Oh, gods, help me_.

——

Taekwoon had ice cubes floating in his bath, collected from the dispenser built into his fridge. They were rapidly melting. Hakyeon sat on his toilet, staring at him with pity. “Taekwoon,” he murmured.

“He’s a bastard,” Taekwoon said hoarsely, his throat feeling dry no matter how much water he drank. “A spoiled, mafia princeling.”

Hakyeon made a little noise, hissing, “Don’t use that word.” He looked at Taekwoon appraisingly, what he could see of him over the rim of the tub, which probably wasn’t much. “I can’t believe you said it to him.” He sighed. “The perks of being an omega.”

“This is not a fucking perk.”

“I meant—” Hakyeon huffed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “He hasn’t sent anyone to come strangle you with your own intestines for your insolence, so.” 

“I almost wish he would,” Taekwoon muttered, grabbing at an ice cube and running it over the heated skin of his face.

Hakyeon gave him a pointed look. “No, you don’t,” he said, and Taekwoon grumbled. “Taekwoon, you— you should go to him.”

Taekwoon gaped at Hakyeon over the rim of the tub. “What? No. I— I’ll wait it out, it’s been three days, it should be subsiding soon—”

“That is what worries me though, Taekwoon,” Hakyeon said, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees. “Normally you’d be starting to taper off by now, but instead you’re just getting worse— and you’re taking way too many of the pills.” Taekwoon looked away. “I’m worried this isn’t a normal cycled heat— I’m worried it isn’t going to go away. If you imprinted on him—”

“I don’t know if I have,” Taekwoon said loudly. His eyes were stinging again, and fuck, but he was tired of crying.

“Taek,” Hakyeon whispered, and Taekwoon sniffled. “You can’t fight what you are for the rest of your life, it was only a matter of time.” 

Taekwoon was getting that thick feeling in his throat, bottom lip trembling. “You don’t understand.”

“Maybe I don’t but— is your pride worth dying over?” Hakyeon asked, and Taekwoon didn’t deign that with a reply. “Don’t give me that look, heat fevers have killed in the past. That’s a lame way to go. Jaehwan would never forgive you.”

The ice cubes were tiny slivers, now. Taekwoon flicked the nearest one away with a soft _splish_. “I’ll think about it,” he whispered. As if he hadn’t been already. 

Hakyeon stood. “If you don’t go to him by tomorrow, then I’m taking you to a hospital,” he said, and Taekwoon turned horrified eyes on him. “You need _some_ kind of help, Taekwoon.” Taekwoon snarled, eyes flashing blue, and Hakyeon’s glowed golden and bright in return. “You can’t live in ice baths. Not to mention that your dick is probably going to fall off soon. Something has to give.”

Taekwoon jerked the shower curtain closed. He hated it when Hakyeon was right.

——

Sleep barely came, and when it did, it was brief, and without exception Taekwoon would wake up belly down, thrusting against his mattress. 

He let out a small cry when he surfaced from sleep on the precipice of an orgasm, his hips slowing but the friction enough to have him coming anyway, his own slick easing the slide of his cock on the sheets. Once it had passed he shivered, slumping down, his back damp with sweat. He eased over, a bit, to try and get away from the wet spot, but his whole bed was a mess. 

After a few moments, he sat up, trembling with the effort, short on breath. He felt— woozy, strange spots floating over his vision. There was a glass of ice water on his nightstand, beside his alarm clock which was blinking _1:06_ at him. All the ice had melted, but the water was still cool, and he drank it down gratefully. 

He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, finding he was hot. Too hot. He’d been dreaming.

Taekwoon reached between his legs, bypassing his cock to his slick entrance. The skin here was even warmer, his entrance swollen and tender. He winced, but he’d been dreaming— he needed—

He pressed a finger into himself, slow, careful, and his body took the intrusion easily but fuck, it still hurt. It wasn’t what he was craving, not the bony twist of knuckles but the velvet heat of a cock. Sanghyuk’s cock. He couldn’t lie to himself, not in his own mind. It was Sanghyuk he was imagining as he pressed a second finger into himself, giving a broken cry. 

The sounds were obscene, as he worked himself, wet and sloppy. It hurt, it hurt, but he needed it, needed to be filled, fucked. 

“Sanghyuk,” he gasped out, moving his fingers faster, tears falling from the overstimulation. He was on the edge of it again, chasing it, his pace relentless on himself but— it wouldn’t come. He was panting, so close, but no matter how much he strained, he couldn’t do it. After a few more fruitless minutes full of frustrated squirming, he slowed, stopped, pulled his fingers free. 

Maybe it was too soon, on the heels of the other, but he knew that wasn’t how heat cycles worked. He wiped his fingers on the sheets, shaking from how worked up he was, how exhausted. 

Taekwoon needed— he _needed_ —

He was already grabbing his phone, making the call, damning his weakness but not able to stop. It was this, or the hospital. And the hospital couldn’t fix this, just dampen it. He wanted the fire gone. 

In his frenzy, he’d forgotten that it was the middle of the night, but the phone was ringing by the time he remembered. It didn’t matter, in the end, because Sanghyuk surprised him by picking up on the second ring.

“Hello?” Sanghyuk said, voice especially staticky, but it sent a white hot shiver down Taekwoon’s spine anyway. A new wave of slick was coating Taekwoon’s inner thighs.

“It’s me,” Taekwoon said. He closed his eyes, wondering if he was really doing this.

“Taekwoon?” Sanghyuk asked. There was the sound of shifting, maybe he’d been lying down. “It’s the middle of the night, if you haven’t noticed.” Despite the hour, Sanghyuk didn’t sound as if Taekwoon had woken him up, nor did he sound particularly annoyed.

“I noticed,” Taekwoon murmured, too tired to rise to the bait. “You told me to call you when I was— was ready.”

A pause. “I did.”

Taekwoon’s free hand clenched in the sheets, a tremor running through him. “I’m ready,” he whispered.

Another pause, longer this time. “I’ll send a car for you,” Sanghyuk said, then the line went dead. 

——

It wasn’t the same car as last time, Taekwoon found when he ran his hands over the leather seats. No claw marks. Though it was possible Sanghyuk has simply already had the seat repaired. 

The betas were different too, but just as robotic. Taekwoon was glad for it, didn’t think he could go through with this if he had to crawl through judgemental gazes. It was bad enough that the beta in the passenger seat kept surreptitiously sniffing the air. Taekwoon wondered if he found the scent of his heat appealing, or simply an oddity, or off putting. The latter was unlikely.

He’d tried to clean up, of course he had, wiping himself up as best he could before putting clothes on. Maybe he should have taken a shower, but he didn’t think he was strong enough to stand for that long, and he’d reek of pheromones even freshly bathed. So he hadn’t bothered. 

Sanghyuk had said he’d send a car, and send a car he had, but as they drove, it occurred to Taekwoon he didn’t know where he was being taken. Surely not back to Sanghyuk’s office, though they certainly were heading downtown. 

When the car stopped, it was in front of a building Taekwoon didn’t know, another skyscraper, one possibly even higher than Sanghyuk’s newly acquired workplace. There was a doorman, and he looked Taekwoon and his betas over with a politely indifferent air. Taekwoon averted his face, the shame bubbling to the surface now that he was out in an open space. 

The elevators required a card key to work, or a fingerprint, and one of the betas swiped a black card through. When the elevator came down, Taekwoon was surprised when neither of them got into it with him.

“Top floor,” the beta who’d kept sniffing at Taekwoon said before the elevator doors shut, leaving Taekwoon alone in the enclosed space.

Top floor. Of course precious princeling Sanghyuk would have the penthouse suite. Taekwoon looked to the button panel, found that only three of them were lit up anyway: the one for the basement, presumably the car park; the first, main floor; and then floor seventy. 

When the elevator started its ascent Taekwoon nearly lost his balance, his legs were so weak. He almost wished one of the betas had come with him, just so there would be someone there to catch him if he passed out. He felt near to it, eyelids heavy when he blinked, the air around him feeling thick and unbreathable. 

As the elevator slowed, dinging softly as it hit the top floor, Taekwoon tried to take a deep breath, to brace himself. He wasn’t expecting the doors to open right into the apartment, had expected a hall of some sort— but no, he could see a sliver of a kitchen, darkened, but more than that, he could hear a heartbeat.

He stumbled out of the elevator, barely registering the doors sliding smoothly shut behind him. His first inhale was agony— if the office had reeked of Sanghyuk, Taekwoon didn’t even know how to describe this. Residences had a different sort of permeation to them, a softer, more intimate version of a wolf’s scent in their homes. 

The floors were black, some kind of dark wood, Taekwoon found when he sank to his knees in the entrance hall. The whole place was very modern, sparse but tasteful, with huge, high windows letting in both the moonlight and the light from the city. Taekwoon would have appreciated it more, if he wasn’t dying, which he was.

There was the soft sound of footsteps, and Taekwoon looked up to see Sanghyuk, still in what looked like his work clothes, though his suit jacket was gone, as were his shoes and tie. 

“Examining my floor?” Sanghyuk asked, stopping a good five feet away from Taekwoon. “The wood’s from Eritrea. Could probably use a good dusting.”

Taekwoon blinked up at him for a moment then took a deep inhale, eyes fluttering shut. It made heat spark over his skin, but it wasn’t quite so painful— he wanted, he wanted down to his marrow, but with Sanghyuk so near, it wasn’t raking sharp talons over him. It felt— warmer, lazier, like raw honey unfurling inside him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found Sanghyuk had come closer, close enough that Taekwoon could poke his socked toe, if he so wanted. His eyes were adjusting, and the moonlight shining in was turning Sanghyuk silver. 

“You’re going into heat,” Taekwoon whispered as he looked up at Sanghyuk’s beautiful face, those cheekbones sharp as shattered glass. Taekwoon could smell it on him, faintly. He didn’t know how he knew that was what he was smelling, he’d never scented an alpha in heat before, but he just— knew. 

Sanghyuk made a little noise, raising his hand to feel his own cheek. “Is that what it is? I’ve been kind of warm all night,” he said thoughtfully, then grinned down at Taekwoon. “ _So_ , you look horrible, though you smell— quite enticing. I take it you’re worse?”

Taekwoon actually felt better, being here, like being wrapped up in Sanghyuk’s scent, his body so near, was a balm. But he knew it wouldn’t last long— the haze would come again soon, already it was hovering on the fringes of his mind. 

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a brat?” Taekwoon asked softly, because he was here and he had nothing left to lose. 

Sanghyuk’s eyes flashed red and he stepped forward, reaching his hand down, palm up. After a moment of hesitation Taekwoon took it, expecting Sanghyuk to help him to his feet. Instead Sanghyuk guided his hand to his crotch, pressing down, so Taekwoon could feel his cock through his slacks. He was only half hard, but it made Taekwoon’s stomach swoop with want, with how much he ached for it inside him. He made a noise, low in the back of his throat before he could stop himself.

“Like it?” Sanghyuk whispered, then stepped back sharply, out of reach. Taekwoon’s body throbbed at the loss of contact. “If you’re here, if you want me, I expect you to act like the bitch you are. You said you were ready, I hope you meant it.” He was still moving away, slowly, stepping back towards a darkened hall. “I don’t like people who waste my time, Taekwoon. I came home early to meet you and everything, because I’m so nice. The least you could do is show me the respect I deserve.”

As Sanghyuk moved away from him, the heat pooling over Taekwoon’s skin began to burn again, turning pinprick sharp. The ache was flaring up between his legs again. He reminded himself why he was here, and he swallowed thickly as a bubble of shame threatened to overwhelm him. 

Sanghyuk had paused, mouth curled in amusement but eyes intense. Taekwoon wet his lips. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and Sanghyuk smirked. He beckoned for Taekwoon to follow him, but Taekwoon found himself too weak to stand. “I can’t walk.”

“That’s a shame,” Sanghyuk said with a mock pout, once again moving away, down the hall. Taekwoon bit his bottom lip, eyes prickling with humiliated tears, before he followed Sanghyuk on his hands and knees, the hardwood floors knocking against his kneecaps. If he could have, he might have Shifted, but as it was he didn’t have the energy. 

Taekwoon followed Sanghyuk down a long hallway and then through a doorway, where the wood floors gave way to plush white carpet. Sanghyuk turned the lights on, though he left them on low, and Taekwoon raised his head too look around.

It was the master bedroom, just as sparsely decorated as the rest of the house had been. The far wall was nothing but windows, and the wall opposite it was paneled in mirrors, no doubt to make the space look even larger than it was. Against the wall separating them was a truly massive bed, the headboard made of the same dark wood as the floors, while the comforter was white and so plush it must have been down-stuffed.

Sanghyuk had disappeared into a side door, perhaps a walk in closet, or a bathroom— when he came out he was barefoot, and he was fiddling with his belt, undoing it and slipping it out of the loops. Taekwoon’s mouth went dry, and when Sanghyuk caught his expression he smirked, looping the belt around his hands and snapping the two sides together before tossing it away, seemingly just to see Taekwoon flinch.

“Shall we get to it then, fucktoy?” Sanghyuk asked, tugging his shirt out of his slacks before sitting on the edge of the bed, legs apart. He plucked the first two buttons of his shirt undone, showing a flash of collarbones, and Taekwoon realized he was making a high, soft keening noise. “Strip.” 

Taekwoon looked away, down at the snow white carpet, as he tugged his shirt over his head and off. His pants would be trickier. He was near enough the wall that he could brace himself on it, hand splayed on a mirror and leaving a smudged handprint. It served Sanghyuk right. 

He was able to stand, leaning on the wall as he toed his shoes off, then shimmied deftly out of his jeans and boxer briefs, kicking them off along with his socks. Taekwoon opted to ignore the way his boxers sort of had to be peeled away, sticking because of how wet he was. Sanghyuk was watching him, Taekwoon could feel his gaze on him, but he couldn’t meet his eyes. His cock was hard, of course, it had barely been soft these last few days, and it was so red, slick and sticky from precome.

Sanghyuk made a noise. “Now that looks painful,” he said, and Taekwoon glared at him for a moment. Sanghyuk gestured to the area in front of himself, not between his knees but near enough. “Stand there.” 

Taekwoon growled lowly and pushed off from the wall, moving to stand where Sanghyuk had indicated, but his legs gave out, and he found himself kneeling there instead. He was beginning to tremble again, and he shook his head, trying to chase away the haze creeping in.

Sanghyuk breathed deeply, and it was clear he could smell it, smell Taekwoon beginning to slip again. His own scent was getting stronger, muskier, his first heat sinking its claws in. At least that would, hopefully, mean the torment would be short, Taekwoon thought. If Sanghyuk fucked him in a heat daze there’d be considerably less gloating to suffer through. And it wouldn’t be so shameful if Taekwoon wasn’t the only one gagging for it.

“Show me your cock,” Sanghyuk said, voice gone a bit husky. Taekwoon blinked, brain slow to process the command, but then he tentatively took his cock into his hand, tipping it up in question. Sanghyuk hummed in approval. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s sensitive,” Taekwoon whispered. 

“I won’t touch it then,” Sanghyuk said, and Taekwoon jerked, which made Sanghyuk chuckle. “Now, show me your cunt.” 

Taekwoon blinked again, that horrible, hot feeling coming back, but in the form of a flush rising from his chest, his neck. “What?”

“Your cunt,” Sanghyuk repeated, utterly unashamed. He made a twirling motion with his finger. “I don’t have all night.”

Part of Taekwoon wanted to get up and walk out, the humiliation overwhelming, but he couldn’t even fucking walk. He had known this wasn’t going to be easy. 

Slowly, feeling like he was in some kind of nightmare, he raised himself up on all fours and turned, setting his front down on the carpet so his ass was up in the air, facing Sanghyuk. The blush had surely reached even his ears at this point, and Taekwoon stuck his face into the plush carpet with a whine. 

“That looks painful too,” was Sanghyuk’s only remark, and Taekwoon bit down on his own forearm in horror. “You’re so pink and swollen you look like you’ve fucked half the city, but I can smell you haven’t. All this for me? I’m flattered.”

Taekwoon barely heard him; he was beginning to tune out, glaze over. Then his foot was being poked with— Sanghyuk’s toe. Taekwoon looked between his own limbs to see.

“You can come here, now,” Sanghyuk said, and Taekwoon sat up so quickly he got a head rush, swaying a little. He turned around so he could crawl the short distance until he was kneeling between Sanghyuk’s spread legs, not touching him, but so close, close enough that he could smell Sanghyuk’s arousal, see the hard line of his cock in his slacks. Sanghyuk brought his hand down over his own crotch, rubbing himself lightly. “Want it?”

Taekwoon nodded wordlessly, leaning forward, but Sanghyuk pushed him back by the shoulder. He looked up at Sanghyuk in question, but the alpha wasn’t looking at him, was busy undoing the button and zipper on his slacks, pulling his stiff cock out and making Taekwoon gasp softly. He was sizable, uncircumcised and flushed pretty pink at the head. The smell of him so close to Taekwoon’s face—

“You need to learn to ask for things, Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk whispered, running his fingers along his shaft. “Thus far you’ve seemed less than pleased to be here, and that won’t do. Remember what I told you before?”

Taekwoon did remember, but he shook his head anyway. Sanghyuk was idly pumping himself, and as Taekwoon watched a bead of precome leaked out, and Taekwoon was horrified by his desire to lap it up. 

“This is a gift,” Sanghyuk breathed, watching as Taekwoon’s eyes followed his movements. “And if you want it, you need to ask me — beg me — for it.”

Taekwoon looked away from Sanghyuk’s hand on his cock, up to his face, feeling his own eyes widening even as his blush deepened. Sanghyuk looked back, smug and expectant, a slight flush on those sharp cheekbones. 

Taekwoon didn’t know how to beg. The words stuck in his throat, embarrassment lodging them there. "I— please—" Taekwoon tried experimentally, touching Sanghyuk's thigh lightly as his cheeks burned red.

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes and knocked his hand away, making Taekwoon bite back a whimper. "You'll have to do better than that."

Taekwoon swallowed. "Please— please fuck me," he whispered, looking away as Sanghyuk arched an unimpressed eyebrow. "I want your cock. I want you to— I—” He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t, even though he was aching anew, dripping precome and slick onto Sanghyuk’s pristine carpet.

“Where do you want my cock?” Sanghyuk pressed, tilting himself down so the head of his cock was almost brushing Taekwoon’s lips. “Use your words, you pretty little cockslut, or you’re going to get it in your mouth because you apparently don’t know how to fucking use it.”

Taekwoon almost wanted that, but it wouldn’t _sate_ him. He looked down at Sanghyuk’s feet, his own knees. “I want you to— to fuck my cunt,” he whispered, burning with shame. 

Taekwoon started, a little, when Sanghyuk touched his jaw, tipping his face up so he was forced to meet Sanghyuk’s eyes. “How do we ask?” Sanghyuk said.

Taekwoon wet his lips. “Please,” he whimpered. “Please, give me your cock, fuck— fuck me in— in—” He broke off with a sob because he _couldn’t_.

Sanghyuk heaved a heavy sigh, and in the next moment Taekwoon found himself being yanked to his feet roughly by his hair. He cried out, but before he could think to struggle Sanghyuk was throwing him down face first onto the bed. 

Taekwoon got his arms under himself to push up, but Sanghyuk was there already, pressing one hand to Taekwoon’s lower back, his other hand going between Taekwoon’s legs—

Taekwoon let out a hoarse scream when Sanghyuk fucked two fingers into him, his body slick and welcoming the intrusion but oh, gods, it was such an intense feeling it _hurt_. He was so sore and they’d not even started. 

“So, you can be loud,” Sanghyuk said thickly, pumping his fingers ruthlessly inside Taekwoon, making his head toss back as he let out another cry. “Is this where you want it, Taekwoon?” He curled his fingers, cruel, and Taekwoon’s vision flickered.

“Yes,” Taekwoon sobbed, hips rutting down into the bedding, back against Sanghyuk’s fingers, sunk into him to the hilt. 

“What is this?” Sanghyuk asked, scissoring his fingers, and considering how swollen Taekwoon was, it felt like quite a stretch. “Is this your cunt, your filthy omega fuckhole? You want me to put my cock here?”

“ _Sanghyuk_.”

“Oh, you’re on a first name basis with me now?” Sanghyuk asked, pulling his fingers free roughly and making Taekwoon keen at the loss. “Am I still a bastard, Taekwoon?”

Taekwoon shook his head, wordless, and Sanghyuk growled. He flipped Taekwoon over onto his back, and Taekwoon immediately spread his legs, ready, so ready. 

Sanghyuk settled between his legs, shirt and slacks still on while Taekwoon lay there nude. He settled over Taekwoon’s body, hands bracing on either side of Taekwoon’s head. “What am I, Taekwoon?” Sanghyuk asked, a slight pant in his voice. His eyes were so bright, hair sticking to his temples.

“My alpha,” Taekwoon whispered, the shame sunk so far into him it was just a fact of it all, now. 

“And what are you?”

Taekwoon swallowed. “An omega cockslut.”

Sanghyuk hummed, leaning down to nose at Taekwoon’s temples, smelling his hair, his sweat. “And what do you want?”

“Your cock inside me, in my cunt,” Taekwoon gasped. He could feel the tip of Sanghyuk’s cock against his hip. “I’m so wet for you, I— it hurts— it _hurts_ — please, please fuck me—”

Sanghyuk reached down, between them, grasping his cock so he could line himself up with Taekwoon’s entrance, and Taekwoon held his breath. “Better,” Sanghyuk muttered, and then he was thrusting forward sharply, breaching Taekwoon in one smooth stroke.

The motion forced all the air out of Taekwoon’s lungs in a strangled scream, head tossing back as his back arched. It was too much, too much, Sanghyuk was too thick, Taekwoon didn’t think he could be so full. Sanghyuk leaned down, nipping at Taekwoon’s exposed throat, accepting the submission, and Taekwoon came from it, sobbing out Sanghyuk’s name as he did it, clawing at Sanghyuk’s back. 

Sanghyuk pulled back a bit, just enough so that he could run his fingers through Taekwoon’s come on his stomach and feed it back to him, shoving his fingers into Taekwoon’s mouth. “Cockslut,” he whispered as Taekwoon sucked his fingers clean, and Taekwoon’s cheeks reddened. 

Once his fingers were clean he pulled his hand back, studying Taekwoon’s face. Taekwoon wondered what he was seeing. A mess, probably. Taekwoon glanced to his side, to the wall with all the mirrors, and then promptly looked away again. 

But Sanghyuk was smirking. He grabbed Taekwoon’s thighs, wrapped around his hips, and rolled them over, so he was on his back with Taekwoon upright and straddling him. The way he’d done it, Taekwoon was facing all the mirrors, and he looked down at Sanghyuk in horror.

“You look like a proper fucktoy,” Sanghyuk said, rolling his hips up. Taekwoon gasped, the friction sweet but sharp. “Is it good, Taekwoon?”

“Yes,” Taekwoon said, voice hitching when Sanghyuk thrust up harder. “Gods, yes.”

“Do you want to come again, come with my cock inside you?” Sanghyuk’s fingertips dug into the muscles of Taekwoon’s thighs, nails a little sharp. Not claws, not yet. 

_Your heat’s here_ , Taekwoon thought, but what he said was, “Yes.”

“Work for it,” Sanghyuk said, and Taekwoon didn’t even hesitate, raising himself up so he could sink back down again. All his weakness had faded, he was getting what he’d wanted, what he’d _needed_. He was surprised by how fast he was able to move, fucking himself hard, mercilessly, on Sanghyuk’s cock. Sanghyuk seemed a little surprised too, mouth fallen open, eyes glazing over. 

“Good?” Taekwoon asked, not sure where the courage was coming from. “Do I feel good?”

“Don’t push it,” Sanghyuk panted, and Taekwoon clenched down on him, making him hiss. Sanghyuk twisted a little, head tipping so he could glance at the mirrors. “Look at yourself, before you get a big head.”

Taekwoon shivered, shaking his head. He didn’t want to know.

“You look like a whore, shamelessly fucking yourself on my cock. _Look_ ,” he commanded, when he turned back and saw Taekwoon was simply looking down at his own hands, braced on Sanghyuk’s chest. 

Taekwoon obeyed and glanced up, saw his own skin flushed to pinks and reds, color high on his cheeks, his hair a tangled mess with tendrils stuck all over his face. He really did look like half the city had fucked him. 

“You were made for this,” Sanghyuk whispered, “made for my cock. Weren’t you?”

“Yes,” Taekwoon murmured, still working himself on Sanghyuk’s cock, hot and thick and deep in him. “Yes.”

“Yes,” Sanghyuk echoed, like he’d decided on something. He reached between them, wrapping long fingers around Taekwoon’s cock, flushed and leaking precome thickly. Taekwoon couldn’t help the shriek he let out, motions faltering as Sanghyuk pumped him, laughing sharply at Taekwoon’s reaction. Taekwoon tried to push his hand away, but Sanghyuk simply grabbed his wrist with his other hand. “This is mine too. Your cock and cunt are mine.” 

“Oh, please,” Taekwoon gasped, squeezing his eyes shut like that would tamp down the intensity of it. But Sanghyuk was ruthless, making up for Taekwoon’s stillness by thrusting his hips, fucking up into Taekwoon while his hand jerked Taekwoon’s cock. Taekwoon’s eyes burned with unshed tears.

“Come, cockslut,” Sanghyuk said. He rubbed his thumb under the head of Taekwoon’s cock, agonizing. “Come again like the desperate omega you are.”

Taekwoon did, coming in smaller spurts over Sanghyuk’s crisp white dress shirt, Sanghyuk’s hand milking it out of him, and as he twitched around Sanghyuk’s cock, Sanghyuk gave a low moan that made an aftershock shiver through Taekwoon. 

“You’re going to make me come,” Sanghyuk mumbled idly, still lightly stroking Taekwoon’s cock despite the truly pitiful noises he was making. “Would you like that? Do you want my come in your filthy cunt?”

Taekwoon nodded, giving shivery little breaths as Sanghyuk gently ran his finger along the slit at the head of his cock.

“Make me come,” Sanghyuk said, letting his hand fall away, indicating Taekwoon should resume moving, but gods, he was so sensitive. 

He wanted it, though, he’d come and it took the edge off but it wasn’t over, his body wanted _Sanghyuk_ , wanted the rest of it. So he began to bounce on Sanghyuk’s cock once more, his own oversensitive cock bobbing between them in a way that wasn’t wholly pleasant. He kept catching glimpses of himself in the mirror, and Sanghyuk was right. He was filthy. The omega cockslut he’d never wanted to be. 

“Should I knot you?” Sanghyuk asked, and Taekwoon jerked, moaning. “Oh, you’d like that? Of course you would, but do you think you can take it? You’re so tight, and it’s big, it’ll hurt, stretch your little pink cunt out.”

“I want it,” Taekwoon gasped, hanging his head in shame. 

"Beg me for it," Sanghyuk panted. When Taekwoon took too long to respond, Sanghyuk brought his open hand down across Taekwoon's thigh in a sharp slap. Taekwoon made a high noise in the back of his throat, and he faltered in his rhythm for a moment. "Taekwoon."

"Give me your knot," Taekwoon whimpered, circling his hips now because his thighs were trembling hard from the strain. He sounded wretched and wrecked, the tears gathered in his eyes beginning to spill over. "Stretch me so full I can't even think— fill me with your come— knot me until I’m too sore to walk—”

Suddenly Taekwoon found being pushed off, away, gasping sharply when Sanghyuk’s cock slipped out of him. In the next moment he was on his stomach again, and when he raised his head he could see he was still facing the fucking mirror, Sanghyuk moving over his back—

Sanghyuk was back inside him then, settling over Taekwoon’s back and rutting into him quickly. Taekwoon cried out as Sanghyuk fucked into him, hard and relentless, panting in his ear. They were beautiful, and Sanghyuk smelled so sweet. 

“Like it?” Sanghyuk whispered, meeting Taekwoon’s eyes in the mirror. Taekwoon nodded, looking utterly blissed out. “I’ll fuck you against the windows next time, let them see, see what a pretty cockslut you are.”

 _Next time_. The images flashed through Taekwoon’s mind. “No.”

“You don’t want everyone know what a good fuckhole you are, how well you take my cock?” Sanghyuk asked, and Taekwoon shook his head. Sanghyuk chuckled, almost in wonder. "How has no one ever had you before? Because you were too shy to ask, too proud to submit—" Sanghyuk rutted forward hard, his hips slapping against Taekwoon's ass, and Taekwoon gave a broken sob, hands clutching at the sheets like claws. "You said no to me before, you said no. And now here you are, begging me for my cock. What would you have done, if not for me? Fucked yourself on your fingers, rutted with another omega? Should I have left you to it?" 

Taekoon shook his head. “No.”

“No?” Sanghyuk asked, nuzzling against Taekwoon’s ear. “I’m doing you a favor, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Taekwoon gasped, eyes fluttering closed. “Yes. Oh gods, you—”

“Me?” Sanghyuk murmured, nibbling at the shell of Taekwoon’s ear.

“So good,” Taekwoon said. “So good, oh, _Sanghyuk_ —”

Sanghyuk’s hips stuttered, breath catching. “I’m going to knot you,” he said, reaching down to spread Taekwoon’s ass open so he could rut that much closer. “I’m— fuck—” 

“Yes,” Taekwoon whispered, letting his head fall, forehead resting on the bed, as Sanghyuk stilled inside him, the pressure inside him increasing. 

Taekwoon thought he’d been ready, feeling Sanghyuk’s cock twitch inside him as he came, the alpha whimpering softly. But it kept going, the knot swelling and stretching him open, until it burned, until he was sure he would bleed.

He was squirming, making soft little pained noises, and Sanghyuk shushed him, not unkindly. “You’ll be okay,” Sanghyuk said softly, running a soothing hand down Taekwoon’s side. He rutted closer, and that eased the pressure some. “I told you it would hurt.”

“It’s too big,” Taekwoon gasped, tears leaking out of his eyes.

“Mm,” Sanghyuk said, reaching down so he could run his thumb over where they were joined, Taekwoon stretched taut. “Or you’re too small.” Taekwoon pinched at his arm. 

With the knot firmly inside him, the haze in Taekwoon’s mind dissipated— for now. But it was nice, laying there and feeling his skin cooling, Sanghyuk pressed along his back, breath stirring the hairs at Taekwoon’s nape. It felt like it had been forever since he’d been a decent temperature, and now he was just— thirsty. Thirsty and sleepy. And sated. Thank fuck.

“I’m really warm,” Sanghyuk muttered, sounding petulant, the sharp scent of his heat washing over Taekwoon when Sanghyuk wiggled against his back. 

Taekwoon buried his face in the comforter and laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> rara wanted me to title this _pride and prejudice and knots_ :|


End file.
